Lessons from Japan - the Land of the Rising Sun

By Theodora Lau & Bradley Leimer

Both Bradley and I have been fortunate to have been invited to spend some time in the beautiful city of Tokyo during the past year. Bradley worked with Accenture as part of an economic development mission designed to help the Tokyo Metropolitan Government promote its growing tech and fintech ecosystem and became an Ambassador for Invest Tokyo (you can read about his journey here).

More recently, I had the wonderful opportunity to participate in the 4th annual FINSUM conference and share my thoughts on the intersection of fintech and longevity. The conference covered a variety of topics from the future of payments, fintech innovation, and the evolving world of financial services covering more specifically the impact of big technology firms, artificial intelligence and ethics, the role of data, and much more.

Throughout the FINSUM’s sessions and beyond, one could feel the energy around the exploration of the next frontiers of finance, in a city very eager to regain its role as the epicenter of financial services within Asia. But what stood out for me was not just the engagement of the conference itself, but more so what I observed while walking around the metropolitan city of Tokyo. If there was one thing that stands out in Tokyo — and Japan itself — it is the sense of homogeneity, pride of its culture and heritage, and an overwhelming sense of community spirit.

Japan is known as the most ultra-aged society globally, where one in four Japanese citizens are 65 or older. This fact, combined with healthy lifestyles and one of the world’s longest life expectancies, means that Japan must rapidly address longevity-related challenges alongside providing some unique lessons for our global society. Japan approaches everything about aging quite differently than the rest of the world — it is tangible — and something that you can initially witness subtly through the age of their cab drivers and later more demonstrably through the pervasiveness of their overall age-inclusive work culture.

Not only does Japan have one of the most comprehensive social care systems for older adults in the world, its government’s focus on assistance for an ageless society encourages workers to stay employed longer, and sets the tone for private sectors to hire more older adults.

Japan is the only country in the world with a national public holiday called Respect for the Aged Day, or Keiro no Hi — to honor the country’s aging citizens. Japan’s public and private sectors embrace this societal zeitgeist by working diligently to address the needs of its aging population through technology, innovation, policy, and structural changes.

As a very homogenous people — Japan’s population includes only 1.5-percent immigrants compared to 5 percent in the United Kingdom and 17 percent in the United States — the Japanese have historically approached systemic challenges as one people, one community — by demonstrating the technological and manufacturing prowess of China; the innovation, research and academic focus of the United States; and the deference to its unique culture and history seen throughout Europe.

Walking around Tokyo, you notice all the little details that go into urban planning to ensure accessibility and convenience for its healthy and independent older citizens in order to continually adapt to their everyday needs. Major crosswalks are equipped with a special button that can be pushed to allow pedestrians extra time to cross. More companies are developing products and services that seek to improve the quality of life for older adults, and to help them stay connected as active participants of the society. Curiously, I hear more discussions around creating insurance and financial products for adult children taking care of their aging parents traveling through Asia than I do in Europe or back home in the U.S..

Appreciation for seniors is ingrained throughout Asian culture, where being old is an asset, instead of a liability. Such attitudes cannot be more different compared to how old age is perceived in the United States, a country where assisted living centers are profit centers and fintech is focused on instagram fueled millennials instead of longer living boomers. Respect and dignity for one’s elders, and the creation of innovative solutions to meet their needs, has never been a facet of daily life in the U.S. as it is in Asia, regardless of longevity statistics, regardless of the future reality that Japan’s fate is also our own.

Japan is not only the land of the rising sun, it is also a country of hope and aspiration, where culture and values blend in harmony with modern technology. The Japanese island nation has shown us that we can live in the future’s past, that we can grow, and innovate, without giving up our traditions. While technology is as important as it is prevalent in their society, much of what transformed the country remains uniquely human. Its public policies, along with innovations and actions by the private sectors can help pave the way for the rest of the world to follow.

There is much to gain from the lessons of Japan. Perhaps what society needs is not round the clock access to social data and status updates – but rather, 24×7 access to empathy and emotions – the very essence that defines the human race – and also the best way for us all to find commonality. Only by truly expanding our sense of community can we change our own outlook on life to see more than ourselves. Only by going back to our roots can we best plan for our future. Only by daring to dream can we achieve those goals that make the greatest impact on society. The future of aging should not be a story of survival – but one of living.

And Japan is showing us how to do just that.

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Listen to this week’s podcast, where Bradley and I discuss the Japanese ecosystem on iTunes and Spotify. Learn more about what we do at UnconventionalVentures.com. from